SINGAPORE, March 22 — Singapore’s Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has suggested a study on the cost-benefits of building more physical bridges between Malaysia and Singapore and for the two countries, in the meantime, to build “more political, goodwill bridges”.
He stated in a post on his Facebook account his response to a suggestion by Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysia and Singapore need at least three to four more bridges to facilitate traffic flow between the two countries.
Dr Mahathir had said that compared to Penang, which now plans to build its third bridge to the mainland in the form of a tunnel, the traffic flow to and from Singapore is much bigger.
“(Dr) Mahathir wants to build more bridges between Malaysia and Singapore. Their cost-benefits should be studied,” wrote Goh.
He said that while studying the cost-benefits, it is hoped that both Malaysia and Singapore will “start building more political, goodwill bridges between leaders, Members of Parliament and our two peoples”.
“Our two peoples have grown increasingly apart since Separation, and successive generations will find each other more unfamiliar.
“I favour closer and stronger links between Malaysia and Singapore, both physical and political. We are neighbours, and forever will be,” Goh wrote and ended his post with his initials GCT.
Singapore separated from Malaysia on August 9, 1965.
Currently, the Causeway and the Second Link are the two bridges linking the countries. — Bernama
